My Pretty Little Nightmare
by SereneSilence888
Summary: Leaving my home was scary. Knowing I'd never see it again was scarier. Not having any control over where I was headed next was the scariest thing ever. And if the only one who can help me can't understand what I'm saying... Rated T for strong swear words.


Deep grey eyes rove the misty countryside, just searching for signs of life in this seemingly-barren landscape. Her paws feel like lead, and they ache from running. Her tongue lolls out of her mouth as she pants. A slight breeze ruffles silver fur, which has turned a dark, muddy color from the rainstorm that had just passed. Her ears prick ever so minutely, straining to pick up the soft sounds of birds singing, or animals stepping through drenched leaves on the forest floor, or better yet, human voices. Her sensitive ears hear nothing, except her breathless panting. Her nose twitches, inhaling deeply, but the scent of rain and mud masks everything. Her eyes are useless in this fog, and the air tastes of cold water. She hangs her head, staring at the soaked dirt road beneath her paws, and wonders what she should do next, and whether or not she should do anything more. Death seems like an easy escape - perhaps too easy. Shaking her head, water droplets fall from her muzzle and ears. She blinks raindrops - or perhaps tears? - out of her eyes, and pushes her thoughts away. They are useless here. She trudges on. *~*~*~* "Inuyasha, you baka!" a female voice screams. Silver ears flatten to the victim's head, and a low rumble begins deep in his throat. "Keh, wench, stop hollering like that. You're hurting my ears," he all but barks. Kagome whirls away from him, eyes narrowed, fists clenched, a vein nearly popping out on her forehead. A chill goes down Inuyasha's back, and he gulps loudly, knowing exactly what's coming next. "Inuyasha..." she begins. His eyes widen greatly, and his brows nearly disappear into his hairline. "Ka-Kagome, wait a se-" "SIT BOY." The subjugation beads glow pink, and then drag Inuyasha into the dirt. He groans in pain, but before he can recover, Kagome's already angrily stomping away. "Kagome-chan, please, it's not Inuyasha's fault..." a young woman protests for her dog-eared friend. "Of course it is! If he had let us stop at that last village, whose headman was practically begging us to stay at, we wouldn't have gotten caught outside in the rainstorm, Sango-chan!" she said loudly. "Hey! Get off my back!" he hollered from his prone position in the mud, but Kagome ignored him. "Kagome-sama, really, a little rain is no big deal..." a purple-clad monk tried to reason with her. "Miroku- sama, everything in my bag is ruined," Kagome said softly. "That, and I'm soaking wet, and I have nothing dry to change into." Miroku swallowed nervously and was glad that he wasn't the one wearing the subjugation beads, because Kagome always started off in a quiet voice before 'sit'ing Inuyasha. "All my textbooks, all my notes and notebooks, all my extra clothes, the first aid kid, it's all ruined! Mama's going to be so mad at me! These textbooks were expensive!" Kagome said, her voice full of emotion, tears pricking hotly at her eyes. "Sango-chan, can I borrow Kirara? I want to go back through the well," she asked quietly. Sango bit her lip and looked at the two-tailed fire cat by her ankles. If she let Kagome borrow the fierce little cat to go home, Inuyasha would be a depressed pain until he got too annoyed and jumped in the well afterwards. This would only bring another fight when he would drag her back. A small boy leaped from Sango's shoulder to Kagome's shoulder. "It's okay, Kagome," he said, his puffy fox tail whipping back and forth a bit. "It's just a few...uhm, books. So, please, don't go back!" He didn't have to say it, but everyone heard the unsaid 'and leave me here at the mercy of this angry emotional wreck of a hanyou'. Kagome opened her mouth to holler at the little kitsune, but at the sincere look in his eyes, she couldn't bring herself to. Instead, she sighed and leaned against a tree and hugged Shippo. "Yeah, you're right, Shippo," she finally said reluctantly. Sango and Miroku sighed inwardly, knowing a disaster was avoided. Suddenly, her vision was flooded with red. Bright fiery crimson red. The kind of red only Inuyasha could wear and not look stupid. Kagome looked up from Inuyasha's offered haori. "Here," he grumbled, not looking at her. Her face turned pink as she slowly took the robe of the fire rat, which was miraculously clean and dry, and draped it over her shoulders. "So stop complaining, wench," Inuyasha muttered. She huffed and wrapped the warm haori around herself and Shippo tighter. He turns and offers his back to her as Sango gestures for Kirara to transform. Kagome walks right past Inuyasha and hops on Kirara with Sango. "Miroku-sama, you don't mind running, do you?" she asks in a honey-sweet voice. The monk in question sighs, but agrees. Inuyasha stares in shock, then huffs and folds his arms. Kagome sneaks a look at his dejected puppy-ish pout, and smiles to herself. Let him stew over it. Kirara takes to the air as Inuyasha picks up Kagome's yellow backpack and her quiver and arrows. "Do you think Inuyasha's going to be mad?" Shippo asks, glancing at the pissed-off hanyou bounding beside them. "I can hear you, runt," he snarls. Shippo squeaks and hides inside the haori. Kagome shoots him a look, and he just growls back. It isn't more than an hour before the group comes across another village, a rather large one at that. Miroku immediately sets to work on a fake exorcism, granting them room in an inn. As Miroku finishes up telling the ghastly and much over-used story of a ominous presence over the village, Kagome, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara settle into a room in an inn. Inuyasha enters the room next to theirs and sits in the corner, holding Tetsusaiga in his lap. He listens to the chatter of the girls and Shippo as they lay out their clothes to dry. "Oh Kami, I'm so glad for a roof over our heads tonight," Kagome moans. "I really don't like sleeping in the forest." "Me neither, but I feel safer with Inuyasha and Houshii-sama there to keep watch over us," Sango agrees. "So... How're things with you and Miroku-sama?" Kagome asks slyly. Sango turns red. "There's nothing between Houshii-sama and I. Just his cursed hand," she says darkly. Kagome rolls her eyes playfully. "Honest! I'd probably like him more if his hands didn't wander so much!" Sango insists. "Which means that you already kind of like him now," Kagome confirms. Sango sputters for a moment. "I do not! His lecherous ways are completely...completely..." Sango's voice trails off as she searches for a word. "Lecherous?" Kagome offers. Sango laughs, her face slowly returning to a normal color. "What about you and Inuyasha?" Sango asks. "What about me and Inuyasha?" "Well, you two seem really close now, but it seems like every time you guys take two steps forward, you end up taking one step back because of some silly fight." "Close? Oh come on, the guy's most likely become a necropheliac by now," Kagome scoffs. "What does that mean?" Shippo asks. Sango and Kagome look at each other. "Don't worry about it," they say at the same time. "Sango-chan, let's go bathe. I'm dying for a hot bath right now," Kagome suggests quickly, hoping the change the subject fast. Sango agrees, and the four make their way to the bathhouse, passing the monk on their way. "Why hello, Kagome-sama, my dear Sango-sama," he greets politely, a grin on his face. "Can it, Houshii-sama," Sango growls. "Why my dear Sango-sama, I'm hurt," he says, feigning injury. She rolls her eyes. "And where are you lovely ladies-" "Hey! I'm not a lady!" Shippo protests. "Allow me to rephrase that. Where are you lovely ladies...and Shippo...off to?" he asks. "The bathhouse, and, no, you can't come," Sango says crossly. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Miroku says as he idles up to Sango. She freezes and twitches as she feels a certain hand caressing a certain place on her. Her beloved Hiraikotsu was left back in the room, so she'd have to make do without it. *~*~*~* Miroku, sporting a bright red handprint on the side of his face, joins up with Inuyasha, who dozed off slightly while listening to the girls. The monk sits cross-legged in the opposite corner and folds his arms inside his sleeves, his staff leaned in the crook of his arm. "Hey, Inuyasha," the monk greets the hanyou. The hanyou makes a noise that could pass for a greeting in return. Silence commences, and Miroku sighs and closes his eyes and begins to meditate. "Hey Miroku?" he asks after a couple minutes of silence. Miroku opens one eye. "Yes?" "What does necropheliac mean? Kagome said it, and Sango seemed to know what it meant. And they didn't want Shippo to know it." Miroku opens both eyes and barely suppresses a laugh. "Who were they talking about?" he asks. "Me," Inuyasha grunts. "Just tell me what it means, monk!" Miroku, unable to hold in his amusement, howls with laughter, then leans over and whispers in Inuyasha's ear what the word means. Bile rises in Inuyasha's throat at he makes a disgusted face. "She thinks I do _that_...?" he hisses. "Well, my friend, considering you do run off with a certain dead miko every once in a while..." Miroku lets the thought drift off. "Monk, you don't get it." Miroku's eyes widen slightly at the soft emotion in Inuyasha's voice. "I owe her a debt, and I don't know how to repay it," he continues. "I don't do this because I love her or anything, just so you know. To be honest, I'm really put off by Kikyou now. She reeks of clay and graveyard soil. Who could love that?" "I agree, my friend, but I think it's only fair that you understand that Kagome-sama refuses to think that's the truth. She believes that you still love Kikyou-sama, and every time you run away to her, I can't tell you how miserable Kagome-sama looks," Miroku says softly. Inuyasha goes silent, and for a few moments, Miroku is sure the dog-eared boy has fallen asleep. "Is that so," the hanyou finally murmurs. He closes his eyes, so Miroku does the same. At the same time, Kagome and Sango have curled up on futons, Kirara at Sango's shoulder, Shippo in Kagome's arms. Their clothes have dried enough by now that they could fall asleep comfortably. Goodnights are exchanged, and soon Sango and Shippo and Kirara fall into a deep sleep. Kagome fingers the robe of the fire rat, which she was still wearing. She brought the hemline of it to her nose and instantly, her nose was flooded with Inuyasha's scent. The scent of the forest, of the river, and that mysterious musky scent that all males seemed to carry. Kagome found it intoxicating and wasn't sorry she hadn't returned it yet. Smiling, she snuggled into the haori and cuddled with Shippo, and soon fell into a dreamless sleep. It was about then that the shouts and screams began. 


End file.
